Smithsonian Yoga Exhibit Seeks to Reveal Mysteries of Yogic Art

A little while back we posted about the super awesome ”Yoga: The Art of Transformation” opening this fall at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. We also mentioned that they’re running a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money to put on the exhibit that will feature 130 objects from 25 museums and private collections from around the world and also some extra fun stuff like yoga classes in the space.

They’re pretty gung ho about the whole thing which is getting us even more excited. Here’s a short video they posted with exhibition researcher Mekala Krishnan, now The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Fellow in Indian and Himalayan Art at the Philadelphia Museum, discussing the signature image of the “Together We’re One” fundraising campaign, Krishna Vishvarupa (pictured above).

And here’s Debra Diamond, curator of Yoga: The Art of Transformation, on the inspiration behind the exhibit:

“When I was researching [past exhibit] Garden and Cosmos, I had questions about the subjects of Jodhpur artworks that weren’t answered in the available literature. As I looked at more yoga-related objects from other times and places, I saw that previous study on yoga’s history often contradicted what I was seeing. That got me hooked.”

As of June 5th, they’ve managed to raise $11,500, with almost three weeks left in the campaign ending July 1. The exhibit (which will be free to the public) will open no matter what.